And I charge thee, O Sister, to believe and always remember that you are a woman of wisdom, courage, strength, compassion, and creativity.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Cushion Cover Tutorial

We got wicker furniture several months for a very reasonable price at a local antique/junk store. The covers were drab though (see bottom cushion above), so I decided to change them out. After looking all over the internet, I came up with the following method for making custom, removable cushion covers.

1. Place the cushion on the fabric of your choice. 2. Measure and mark 2 inches out from the edges of the cushion all the way around the cushion. Depending on the thickness of your cushion, you can measure out more or less than the two inches. My cushion are about 3" thick, and the two inches all the way around was enough to account for the seam and to cover the sides. 3. Cut out the shape following the marks made in step #2. You should end up with something like the photo below.

4. Mark the top of the fabric. This will be the front of the new cover.

5. Turn the piece you just cut over, so the right side is facing up. Place it on top of another piece of uncut fabric with the wrong sides facing like the photo above. 6. Measure out 2" from the bottom edge of the top piece and mark the bottom piece every so often. Repeat process for top edge. You should have something similar to the photo below where the sides of the two pieces are flush, and the top and bottom of the second piece extend two inches farther than the top piece. 7. Mark the top of the second piece you just cut; this will be the back of the cushion cover.

8. Cut the longer of the two pieces in half horizontally; this will become the opening for the cushion. 9. Hem each of the straight edges of the two pieces you just cut by folding the fabric over once 1/4", ironing, folding again, and ironing. 10. Pin in place and sew.

11. Lay the first piece you cut (the front of the cushion cover) on your work surface with the right side facing up. 12. Place the two hemmed pieces of the back on top of the first piece with the right side facing down. The right sides of the fabric should be facing. The fabric of the two sides should match up fairly closely. If you need to trim the corners a bit to make them match, that's fine.

13. Pin all the away around the edges of the fabric as well as across the opening to keep everything together as you sew. 14. Sew around the edges; my seam allowance was about an inch. I realize this is wide for a seam, but I found it easier to follow the edges of the shape with a bit more space on the sides. 15. Turn the fabric right side out and place the cushion inside to make certain it fits. 16. If all is well, turn the fabric inside out again and trim the seam edges. 17. You're finished! Just turn the fabric back to right side out and put in your cushion.